Informative

Fake Nintendo Games Are Out There! How To Protect Yourself

You are on the everlasting search for the rarest of rare games to complete you collection. While searching online, your eyes glace over that one missing piece, Mega man x3. Priced at an unbelievable amount, you think, “maybe they’re not aware of its rarity… So you bid, you win! Days later the package comes, you plop the game into your system and its NHL 94! My God are you pissed.

We get games, all kinds of games find their way into Matts Game Exchange, even we had a fake Mega Man x3 walk through our automated doors. We knew was fake, but decided to give the person $1 for it just to show you fellow collectors how to take extra precaution to spot fake Nintendo games.

Fake Megaman x3 cartridge for the SNES.

Tools Needed

One tool, That is it! You should have is an 3.8mm Gamebit. This screwdriver can open NES, SNES, Nintendo 64 & Game Boy games.

First glance

These are some precautions you can take to play it safe at first glance

Sometimes, Fake Cartridges are missing the Nintendo Engraves on the back of the item, one say something completely different, such as Game instead of Nintendo Gameboy.

Fake because it does not have the Engraved “Nintendo Gameboy” at the top

Labels should be glossy and clear. There should be an Nintendo Seal, In US it’s an oval and in Europe it’s a circle. Logos that are unclear or fuzzy looking are no good. Replications sometimes have slightly different fonts than originals.

Real games tend to have a more glossier/define finish as compared to the fake counterparts and not colors that are over exaggerated.

Some Games are completely straight forward with you and say reproduction!

if the game seems to be in too good condition for a 20+ year old game, always take precautions.

Through look at Fake Nes Games

Best Defense for NES is to simply google the games circuit board, open up the suspected game and compare. http://bootgod.dyndns.org:7777/ is a great source to compare all PCB information

There are no wires on NES Boards

Nintendo uses all copper pins

How a real NES game circuit board should look.

Fake Nes game, the Nes citcuit boards do not have wires.

SNES Games

Batteries were installed on all the board because of the length of some RPGS and general games,

SNES batteries are bonded directly to the printed circuit board where a fake obviously looks like an attachment on fake Nintendo games.

If you have black blobs on the circuit, it is a clear fake.

SNES Central Has boards for all snes titles for you to check out and compare to see if they are in fact, authentic titles.

Gameboy Games

Pokemon games are the most commonly replicated games of all. They are easy & still have an high demand. some very easy methods to determine the authenticity of one of these Fake Nintendo games.

on the label there will be a few tiny letters and numbers embossed onto a real label. Angle the label to the light to see these.

Fake labels are usually off-center from the cartridge and/or have overly rounded corners.

The back of fake cartridges are sometimes held together with a Philips screw instead of the Nintendo Y screw.

Shouldn’t have glob on inside

Top Two Counterfeit Bottom One Authentic

Top Two Counterfeit Bottom One Authentic

Top Two Counterfeit Bottom One Authentic

Top Two Counterfeit Bottom One Authentic

N64 Games

N64 games don’t receive the same treatment as the prior systems because the cartridge is much more sophisticated than it’s priors. The n64 game ROM size is much bigger and were equipped with an Checking Integrated Circuit, lockout ship. This prevented unlicensed game cartridges from running and gave Nintendo complete control over the software. Even this doesn’t always stop people from being tricked, as the case with the Blue Clay Fighter Sculptor’s Cut.

Update on Crash Bandicoot N.Sane Trilogy (Crash Bandicoot Remastered)

At E3 2016, Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy was announced to the PlayStation community. More than a port of the classic games to the PS4, a complete from the ground up remake of the first three games. Man, are we excited!

“Using the original level geometry from Naughty Dog as a guide, we rebuilt the Crash gameplay from scratch, capturing its simplicity and precision. As the levels began to take shape, we layered in our own lush and zany art, animation, and audio,” said the game’s director.

Crash Bandicoot 2 Screenshots

Only gameplay for the first Crash has been released, however an anonymous person on Twitter Leaked screenshots of Crash 2 from Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy on 02/14/2017.

Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy Soundtrack Remaster

According to an press release, the visuals aren’t the only thing getting remastered, but the entire soundtrack. If you are not quite yet on the hype train, Activision has acquired some of the original voice actresses including that of Coco Bandicoot. Debi Derryberry who announced that she is returning via twitter.

Here's the OFFICIAL announcement! I'm proud to be reprising my role of Coco Bandicoot, Crash's sister in the upcoming remake! pic.twitter.com/5bWz5tOaNG

As the Nintendo Switch release date approaches, Here are three things we discovered exciting and not so much.

Nintendo Switch 1-2 Switch

Web Browsing?? A no go at launch for Nintendo Switch.

Nintendo Switch, slated to be the revolutionary of mobile gaming will be missing a key component of mobile devices, web browsing. Nintendo president and CEO Tatsumi Kimishima told Time Magazine, “Since all of our efforts have gone toward making Switch an amazing dedicated video game platform, it will not support it, at least at launch”. Nintendo also previously stated that the switch would not support video steaming apps such as Netflix and Amazon Video at launch. Worth noting there was the WiiU web browser, a lot of effort that was put into something went fairly unused.

1-2 Switch, The party Game on Nintendo Switch.

Nintendo recently debuted its party game 1-2 switch, where 2 human players face each other using the Joy-Con controllers. These games are meant to be played without looking at the screen. 28 games that are quite weird and funny. In the game “Shaver”, users use the Joy-Con to “shave” a virtual beard off themselves. The first to get squeaky clean wins, while the other is shown how much hair was left on the avatar, presumably in a silly pattern.

Another mini-game where your Nintendo Switch console is turned into a crying baby. Nintendo has always had a reputation of creating weird, seemingly crazy yet fun games. Anyone remember Warioware?

Take-Two will support the Nintendo Switch

The NBA 2K series is one of the most selling games every year. Take-Two pulled the series with the WiiU starting with 2k14 because it simply was not selling. Now Take-Two boss Strauss Zelnick has confirmed that they are committed to the Nintendo Switch.

“So we’re excited about it, but the only thing we can announce is the basketball title”, Zelnick stated in a recent investor call.

It’s still unlikely we’ll see titles such as Grand Theft Auto 5 and Red Dead Redemption 2 on the hybrid console.

Welcome back to Part 3 of our game finding guide. Today’s guide will be a little shorter, but vitally important for figuring out what games to buy for the holiday season. If you missed Part 1 on game ratings, click here and if you missed Part 2 on game genres, click here.

Everyone has heard the debate between Playstation and Xbox. Which is better? Which should I buy my kids? Which should I buy for myself? Which has better games? The thing is, with all of these questions, you decide. Both the Xbox One and the Playstation 4 have such similar internal specs that trying to compare their performance would just be splitting hairs. Instead, there are a few questions you should ask yourself, listed in order of importance:

What do my friends play?

What kind of games do I like?

Will I be playing online?

What your friends play will probably be your most important factor because – let’s be honest here – no one likes to feel left out. On top of that, even if you have no plans to play online with friends, you can still borrow games back and forth between friends to maximize your gaming experience for little money! So if most of your close friends play Xbox One, then that may be the choice for you.

However, the kind of games you prefer might affect that just a little. For instance, Sony’s Playstation consoles often have access to many many more RPG and adventure titles that will never come out on the Xbox One, and Microsoft’s Xbox consoles often have access to their own shooters and racing games which will never see the light of day on Sony’s consoles. These console exclusive games might just seal the deal for you. A full list of exclusives can be seen here. Note that Playstation 4 has about twice as many exclusives as Xbox One.

The Uncharted series is an example of a Playstation exclusive game.

The Halo series is a prime example of an Xbox exclusive game.

Finally, online play might have an impact. Currently both Playstation Plus and Xbox Live subscriptions will run you $59.99 for a full year. A decently steep price tag, however you get perks for it. You can check out this TechTimes article for a full run-down of the comparison between the two, but I can give a little summary here:

The subscription price for both per year is the same, so they both tie on that front (Note that at the time of the TechTimes article being published, Playstation Plus subscriptions only costed $49.99/year. They have gone up to $59.99 as of now). However, with both options you do get a selection of free games: 2 free games a month on Xbox One’s Xbox Live Gold, but a total of 6 free games under Playstation Plus. Additionally, for streaming services, Playstation Plus has the upper hand. So if you are deciding based on online subscriptions, Playstation 4 would be the console to go with.

That’s about all that you need to know for console exclusivity. Those three questions should be able to narrow down which console you should buy, which will in turn have an effect on the games you can buy. Sleep easy though, exclusive sounds scary and makes it sound like you’re losing out on a lot, but the truth is most of the major gaming experiences will come out on both consoles. But be sure to read over all the options and use that to decide, here at Matt’s Game Exchange, we want to help customers become informed on their purchases, and are willing to help in any way we can.

Tune in next time for the final chapter where we will discuss multiplayer capabilities within games!

The NES Classic Mini has been released today, 11/11/16 at major retailers across the country. This seems to have been a very limited release, and most locations are already out of stock. We will not be stocking the NES Classic Mini unless someone trades it in. Before you take to eBay and pay an outrageous price for this hot holiday gift, let us talk you down and show you the alternative options that we have in stock every day.

Things to know about the NES Classic Mini

The NES Classic Mini is small and the MSRP is $59.99. The console itself is around the same width of a classic controller. The NES Classic Mini can hook up to your flat screen televisions via HDMI. In addition to the enhanced graphics, you can now save games at any point – negating the need for those annoying passwords we all hated. The console has 30 of your favorite classic games built in, including titles like Super Mario 3, Kirby’s Adventure, and Pac-Man. While it does have 30 great games, those are the only games you will ever be able to play on this console. There is no online store to download additional titles and it does not have the ability to play classic cartridges. Here is a list of the only thirty games you can play on the NES Classic Mini:

Balloon Fight

BUBBLE BOBBLE

Castlevania™

Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest™

Donkey Kong

Donkey Kong Jr.

DOUBLE DRAGON II: THE REVENGE

Dr. Mario

Excitebike

FINAL FANTASY®

Galaga™

GHOSTS‘N GOBLINS™

GRADIUS™

Ice Climber

Kid Icarus

Kirby’s Adventure

Mario Bros.

MEGA MAN™ 2

Metroid

NINJA GAIDEN®

PAC-MAN™

Punch-Out!! Featuring Mr. Dream

StarTropics

SUPER C™

Super Mario Bros.

Super Mario Bros. 2

Super Mario Bros. 3

Tecmo Bowl™

The Legend of Zelda

Zelda II: The Adventure of Link

Know your options

Here are Matt’s Game Exchange we offer several alternative options to get your retro fix. Feel free to stop by one of our stores and speak with our expert staff to find the best available option for you. Continue reading for the breakdown.

The Original Nintendo Entertainment System

Way back in 1985, Nintendo released the original NES. The original NES sold cartridge based games and turned out over 700 games in total. That means only 4% of the total NES library is available on the Classic Mini. Another benefit to the original NES is just that – it is the original. We carry all of the original NES accessories (like the light gun, which only works with old school TVs) that are not available for the NES Classic Mini. The original NES can be used on many of today’s flatscreen TVs with the AV cable, or you can purchase a converter to make it compatible with HDMI ports. The original NES is available for $59.99, and we can make a custom bundle for you with any of the games we have in stock.

Retron and Retron 2

Pictured above (left) is the Retron. The Retron is third-party system that can play all of the original NES cartridges. It is also compatible with all of the original NES accessories. This is available in our stores for $24.99, or we can add a copy of Super Mario Bros./Duck Hunt for $29.99. Pictured above (right) is the Retron 2. This is also a third-party console that will play the original NES games. In addition, it will play all of your favorite Super Nintendo games as well. The Retron 2 is available in store for $59.99, and as always, we can make a custom bundle for you with your favorite video games.

Nintendo Wii and Wii U

The Nintendo Wii (available in store for $49.99) and Wii U (available in store for $200) are very versatile systems, both of which have a “Virtual Console” store, where you can purchase and play nearly 400 of your favorite classics available from a wide variety of systems (NES, SNES, N64, Genesis, and more!). Games in the virtual console run anywhere from $4.99-$9.99, and are stored on your console.

In conclusion

Now that you know all about the NES Classic Mini alternatives available at Matt’s Game Exchange, be sure to stop by and speak with our expert staff to find out which option is best for you.

Welcome back to our 4 Part Blog Series on Finding the Perfect Game for Christmas! If you missed Part 1, click here to read!

Today we will be discussing genres, and what genres might be perfect for your gift recipient. There are about 10 major genres, each different from the last. Keep in mind that sometimes defining a genre of a video game can be tough – it’s just like movies or books. Sometimes genres can mix – creating a brand new genre. It can also be difficult to pin down a specific genre to a game. It happens, and it can get confusing. Always know that if there are any questions you have that this blog does not answer, you can always call our stores and ask an in-store associate what might be best for you.

This is a chart generated by statista.com breaking down the most sold genres in 2015. These are the 10 most popular and will be the ones we will explore today.

Let’s get down to it!

Shooters

The best-selling video game genre of 2015, and for good reason! Shooters have a wide variety of content in them and often end up blending many different genres into them. They can be first person – where you see your hands and guns, or the game be third person, where the camera zooms out to show your entire character.

This is an example of a first-person shooter.

This is an example of a third-person shooter.

Shooters usually involve, well, shooting! So on that note, please consider that most shooting will involve shooting other virtual people, and as a result of that violence, will be considered an M rated game. Shooters often have a strong emphasis on a multiplayer experience with minimal single player options, so note that you may need to invest in Xbox Live or Playstation Plus subscriptions with these games to get the full experience! Some notable titles in this genre would be Call of Duty, Halo, Gears of War, and Battlefield.

Action

Here is another broad genre. Games in this genre usually involve lots and lots of action and usually little story or slow moments in the game, though that isn’t always true. These games often include lots of challenges including but not limited to shooting, platforming, and puzzle solving. Games of this genre can include gun or swordplay, but can also be fun, silly games for a younger audience. Ratings on action games can be all over the board. Notable action titles are Batman, Grand Theft Auto, and Dark Souls.

Batman: Arkham Asylum is an example of an action game.

Sports Games

These games are virtual recreations of popular sports. A vast majority of these games will be rated E for Everyone. The gameplay is usually simple, dynamic, and most importantly – fun! Easy to pick up for most people, and they come our annually! Notable sports games are FIFA, WWE, NBA, MLB, and Madden NFL. Note that these games will be followed by year titles for the sports year their rosters will represent.

Fifa 15 is an example of a sports game.

NBA 2K16 is an example of a sports game.

WWE 2K16 is an example 0f a sports game.

Role Playing

Also known as RPGs (role playing games). Sometimes, nothing can be more fun than getting home from work or school after a long day and pretending to be something you aren’t – an epic, well-known hero who travels distant lands, or a nameless adventurer dodging arrows and taking down dragons. Role playing games are often long, time consuming games that can spread a little bit of money out a LONG way. I’m not kidding. You can spend $7 on a copy of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and be playing until the cows come home. Spoiler: That’s a LONG time. Role playing games often have a strong single player emphasis and often little-to-no multiplayer aspects. These games are also often set in a fantasy or sci-fi universe. Ratings in this genre tend to be spread all across the board. Notable games of this genre are Pokemon, The Elder Scrolls, Fallout, Tales of Xilia and other Tales games, and Dragon Quest.

Final Fantasy is a great example of an RPG.

Adventure

Adventure games often include a stronger emphasis on story than action games do, but often include a lot of the same conventions. Adventure games will often move slower than action games, but still include the same elements such as platforming, puzzle solving, and shooting. Adventure games will be more about an experience – like RPGs – but not inherently quite as long. Adventure games can have multiplayer aspects, but also focus mainly on a single player experience. Notable adventure games are The Legend of Zelda, Minecraft, Heavy Rain, and The Walking Dead Game.

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword is a great example of an Adventure game.

Fighting

Yes! We all need to let out some steam every once in a while, and, let’s be honest, who doesn’t remember playing some sort of fighting game as a kid? Fighting games often require a lot of technical skills and memory, being able to react quickly and pull of counters and combos. They aren’t for everyone, but if you are willing to put in a little bit of focus you can get REALLY good at them. Most popular fighting games also have a strong community following, so getting into some of the bigger fighting games can make you some very great friends. However, sometimes not knowing what you’re doing and just button mashing your way to victory is the best way to win. Fighting games often have a VERY strong multiplayer focus, and are some of the only game still around that have two-player local gameplay, as well as online. That being said, most games also have a decent story mode used to get the player invested in the world of the game. Ratings range all across the board on this one. Notable fighting games include Mortal Kombat, Street Fighter, Killer Instinct, and Injustice.

Mortal Kombat X is an example of a fighting game.

Racing

Racing games are all pretty simple in idea, and pretty broad in design. If you like high speed and always being #1, try one of these on for size. Racing games also typically have a fair balance of multiplayer and single player functionality, however some recent games are giving up on local multiplayer and only allow online play. Most racing games will range from E to T, with the kicker often being mild lyrics in the songs used or suggestive themes – no one wants to endorse reckless driving after all. Notable racing games include Forza Motorsports, Gran Turismo, Need for Speed, and Mario Kart.

NASCAR Heat Evolution is an example of a racing game.

Mario Kart 8 is a great example of a fun racing game.

Strategy

These games require time, patience, and a capacity and love for learning. Strategy games can be huge times sinks, in fact there is someone out there who has been playing the same game of Civilization II for the last 10 years! (Note: NSFW material such as inappropriate language may be present in the comments of the thread) The catch is that strategy games are NOT for everyone. And that’s not bad, but if you can learn to love one and curl up with it, it can very quickly be the most played game in your library. Most strategy games are solely single player experience with limited multiplayer aspects. Most strategy games will range from E to M. Notable strategy games include Civilization, SimCity, and Red Alert.

Battallion Wars 2 is a classic example of a strategy game.

Family Entertainment

These games are built for families, and as such will mostly be rated E or E10+. These kinds of games will be meant for family games nights and will include virtual board games, card games, trivia, or unique challenges. There is almost solely a local multiplayer aspect to these games, often between 2-4 players. These games will include the Family Game Night series, You Don’t Know Jack, Monopoly, and Just Dance.

Family Game Night is a perfect example of a family game.

Just Dance is another example of a family game.

Casual

. These are games – mostly mobile games but many still do make appearances on console – that you boot up because you’ve got some time to kill or want to keep the kids busy. These games often have a minor story and are meant simply to relax. These include puzzle games, mobile games, or creative games. These are games that you will put some times into, but you probably won’t notice it because you’ll be playing them for half an hour or so at a time rather than for whole hours. Ratings on these games are usually on the lower end of the spectrum, ranging from cE to T for the most part. Popular casual games include Peggle, Plants vs Zombies, LittleBigPlanet, and Chocolatier.

Plants VS. Zombies is a fun, favorite casual game.

And there we have it! Using these descriptions, you should be able to decide what games will be best to make the perfect gift! Do you like long drawn out single player experiences? Or do you prefer shorter bursts of fun multiplayer battles with friends? You can find everything you need up there and remember – sometimes genres are hard to track down. If you need help, call or stop by one of our stores and ask for an associate. Until next time, when we talk about Console Exclusivity!

It’s nearing Christmas time, and you’re shopping around trying to find the perfect video game gift for your kid, friend, or someone else. But there’s only one problem – you don’t know much about video games. We understand, it happens, and you shouldn’t be ashamed. Instead, you should learn the science behind picking the perfect game, for you, or for others.

Welcome to our series of blogs dedicated to helping you find the best games during this time of year to assist in your Christmas holiday shopping! This series will be broken down into several parts, making it easier to digest:

Part 1 – Game Ratings

Part 2 – Genres

Part 3 – Console Exclusivity

Part 4 – Multiplayer Capabilities Within Games

The very first thing you will want to keep an eye out for is the rating. A company called the ESRB, or the Electronic Software Rating Board, has placed a rating on each and every licensed game on the market. You can find this rating in the bottom left hand corner of most video game cases.

And again in the bottom right of the back of the case, this time with more information.

This rating has been determined by a board of members who dedicate their jobs to assisting people in finding suitable games for people of all ages. There are three factors parts within each rating:

Rating Categories suggest age appropriateness

Content Descriptors indicate content that may have triggered a particular rating and/or may be of interest or concern

Interactive Elements inform about interactive aspects of a product, including the users’ ability to interact, the sharing of users’ location with others, if personal information may be shared with third parties, if in-app purchases of digital goods are completed, and/or if unrestricted internet access is provided.

These ratings range and give a broad idea of what age group should be playing it. Here’s a basic breakdown:

eC – Early Childhood – These games are created for the sole purpose of teaching and entertaining small children. Most commonly found on mobile, PC, or on learning based consoles such as Leapfrogs.

E – Everyone – These games are suitable for people of all ages. Contains minimal cartoon or fantasy violence.

E 10+ – Everyone 10 and Up. These games may have slightly more mature themes than E-rated games. May contain slightly more violence, mild language, and suggestive themes.

T – Teen – Games are generally for people 13 years of age or older. May contain more violence, crude humor, mild language, occasional use of strong language, minimal blood, etc.

M – Mature – Reserved for people 17 years of age or older. May contain strong language, blood, strong violence, sexual themes, etc.

AO – Adults Only – Content in these games are suitable only for adults. Games may contain intense violence, intense sexual themes, or gambling with real money.

RP – Rating Pending – The game in question has yet to be released, and is still being reviewed by the ESRB to find the best rating for the title.

For each game, the front rating will give you the base rating, and to find out vaguely why the game has that rating, you can check on the back. For a further in depth reason for a game’s rating, the ESRB has a rating synopsis for most games available on their website(http://www.esrb.org/ratings/search.aspx).

Keep in mind, the ESRB rating policy is NOT legally binding – however big box stores have deals with the ESRB preventing them from selling a game to someone under the age of the game’s recommended rating. Although we here at Matt’s Game Exchange are not legally obligated to do so by deals with the ESRB, we will not sell a game to someone who is younger than the recommended rating. In addition, we will do our best to steer you in the right direction when Christmas shopping for others.

As the Christmas season grows nearer, we hope this has helped you start your journey on finding the perfect game for family and friends. Check out next time when we break down games into basic genres to discover what genres your friends and family might enjoy best.

Earlier this week, after much anticipation, Nintendo finally gave us a first look at their upcoming video game console. The once rumored “Nintendo NX” has officially been announced as the Nintendo Switch and the gaming community has had a lot to say about it. The reactions range from disappointed to optimism. For months leading up to Nintendo’s press conference the internet was ablaze with supposed Nintendo “NX” leaks and rumors. These rumors ranged from the unlikely to factual as we have found out after this weeks bombshell of information. Without getting to far into the politics and personal preferences of gamers we wanted to take a look at the new console and what we know about it as of the Nintendo press conference.

What we know:

One of the more prominent rumors was that Nintendo’s next system would be a true handheld and home console hybrid, which appears to be the case. Nintendo revealed that the console would include what appears to be a 7″ tablet style display, with controller attachments, and touch screen capabilities. The unique design of the console allows for the player to seamlessly transition from the comfort of their home to gaming on the go.

The conference also showed us that the console will indeed use a cartridge based format for games. Many people had speculated that with the release of Nintendo’s newest console they would be returning to cartridge based games. With today’s advances in technology, cartridges are now capable of holding dozens of gigabytes of data on a cartridge the size of your average postage stamp. This will allow Nintendo to have larger worlds, faster characters, and all around a more magical experience we have come to know and love from the gaming giant.

The video reveal is and was a lot to process, but one of the things we noticed in the video was a new “pro” style controller for the system. The last two home consoles released by Nintendo, players had the option of purchasing a pro controller. These controllers offer better control and all around a more universal controller styling. The Nintendo Switch Pro controller looks to be similar to its predecessors with a few changes made. The analog sticks for the controller seem to be inverted, similar to the Xbox 360 controllers. The controller also appears to have a matte finish on the paddles, leading one to believe a more textured grip as opposed to the gloss finish on Nintendo’s previous pro controllers.

There was much speculation as to whether or not the Nintendo Switch would play Nintendo 3ds games or not due to the fact it uses cartridge based games. Nintendo has since put that speculation to rest and announced that the Nintendo Switch will not support 3ds game cartridges.

What we can Expect:

First impressions on the Nintendo Switch have left a lot up to the imagination. It is often difficult to compile information on a new system once it is announced, and most cases we are left desperately waiting for more news from Nintendo. While this is still the case for the Nintendo Switch, the information given has led us to a few expectations.

Firstly, Nintendo has stated multiple times, and stands by the original release window of March 2017. As of writing this article there is no pre-order available through retailers. While there is some concern on Nintendo’s ability to meet their own deadline, as well as demand, this would not be the first time Nintendo has had a console reveal so close to scheduled release. In the past Nintendo has had a habit of revealing new hardware with some times as little as months before its release date, like the Wii U having its release date of December 2012 announced in September of the same year. There is no surefire way of telling whether or not there will be any delays seen in the release of the Nintendo Switch, but with Nintendo’s track record, its unlikely we will see a delay.

What is arguably the most important piece of information released thus far is the list of developers working on titles for the Nintendo Switch. One of the most common faults attributed to the Nintendo Wii U was the lack of third party support. When there are no developers willing to work on games for your system, it becomes hard to market and sell you console. The list of confirmed developers for the Nintendo Switch is borderline staggering. The list includes video game giants like Bethesda, Atlus, Capcom, Square-Enix, Bandai Namco, Fromsoftware, Konami, NIS, and many many more. These developers are collectively responsible for some of the most ground breaking and critically acclaimed games of the last few decades. With third party support from this super group of developers the Nintendo Switch will have no foreseen shortage of titles.

Nintendo has always seemed to have an infatuation with peripheral device’s for their consoles. From the Pokewalker on the DS, Amiibos on the Wii U, even down to the AR cards for the Gameboy Advance, Nintendo is always trying something new. Although there are none confirmed as of writing this article, one can only assume we will see any number of peripheral devices to bring more depth to the experience.

What we still want to know:

Now that the veil has been removed and we finally got our look at the next Nintendo console, we are still left with a few questions. The video released by Nintendo showed a number of features and game play samples without going into a whole lot of detail, leaving the internet and consumers to speculate and formulate possibilities of their own. While most of these are still entirely speculation, its still nice to see what the community gets right and wrong after release.

We touched on this point previously, but lack of third party support was one of the faults people found in Nintendo’s Wii U. With the video release we saw gameplay clips from developers, but the biggest one seen was The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. Skyrim is notorious for being a larger game that requires not only a significant amount of processing power, but adequate storage space. The fact that Nintendo’s new console is capable of running Skyrim is enough to celebrate, but the fact that it is able to accomplish such a feat on a portable display is almost to good to be true. There is currently no word on whether or not the game shown was Skyrim or its HD remaster, slated for release on PS4, Xbox One, and PC later this year. The idea of the Nintendo Switch being able to run the latter of the two is almost hard to imagine, but we would still like to know what other games we have yet to see or hear anything about from other developers.

When marketing a tablet or portable electronic device, a key point to accentuate or mention is battery life of the device. With one of the core features on this new system being portability the community is curious as to how long they will be able to game on the go. A few other specs were not mentioned during the conference as well such as mobile network options, controller compatibility, online play, backwards compatibility, and other key specs most users look at when deciding on a new console. At this point in time all we can do is wait for more information as it comes.

Closing thoughts:

Whether you are a fan of Nintendo or not, you can not deny the impact they have made on not just the video game community but pop culture as a whole. From the golden cartridge era, to the underappreciated newer consoles, Nintendo has always found a way into our homes and hearts. But with their last two home consoles widely regarded as failures or unsatisfactory I think it is nice to see Nintendo taking such a huge step in the hardware department. We don’t know a whole lot of information at this point but what we have been told is definitely a step in the right direction. The design and creativity behind the console leaves the door wide open for the future of how gaming hardware will be designed, as well as approached. The amount of third party developers already working with or suggested to be working on Nintendo Switch software makes its potential library at least on par with the other major home consoles, and opening the possibility for even more.

While the firestorm of speculation and rumors rages on, one thing is for sure though, come March of 2017 we will all get to make our own decisions about the Nintendo Switch!

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Do your games freeze, do you get disc read errors, or they simply won’t load? Sometimes it is the lens going out on your machine but more commonly it is smudges or scratches. Smudges can be wiped off with a soft cloth like a t-shirt. Don’t use a paper towel, it’s too rough!

At Matt’s Game Exchange we have hi-tech buffing machines that will repair discs by taking out scratches making them look and function like brand new. Our machines have several settings from light buff to deep buff. We have a 95% success rate. (However, if there are deep gouges like it was scrapped across pavement or the silk screening on top is damaged we won’t attempt to fix these).

We only charge $3.00 per disc. If you have a lot we can certainly work out a quantity discount. Often we can run them through our machine quickly while you browse the store.

“What the heck is a Retron?” We get this question multiple times a day.

There are several different models of the RetroN: RetroN 1, RetroN 2, RetroN 3, and RetroN 5. Each system has the ability to emulate classic consoles and play their games. We carry all the models in-store, but the RetroN 2 is by far our best seller. You may remember this system from our weekly bundle posts. It will play NES and SNES games, and is compatible with your original controllers. It’s ok if you don’t have any because we also sell brand new ones.

What are the benefits of purchasing a RetroN over a NES/SNES system? The RetroN is a brand new system, so all the contacts are new, whereas your old ones might have some corrosion. Using a RetroN will also reduce the wear and tear on your classic consoles so they will be in great shape down the road. This is a great option for collectors.

How about our other models? RetroN 1 will only play NES games. RetroN 3 will play NES, SNES, and Sega Genesis games. The RetroN 3 also comes with wireless controllers. The RetroN 5 offers the most options when it comes to compatibility. You can play all your favorite NES, SNES, Super Famicom, Genesis, Mega Drive, Famicom, Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and GBA cartridges. To make this console even sweeter, it hooks up with HDMI and automatically enhances the image quality.

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